“The first round of matches will begin tomorrow!”
The Yellow Qilin students returned to Yàn Lìqín’s side. “What do we do now, Grand Elder?” Yin Mengxia asked.
Yàn Lìqín opened his fan and waved it mysteriously. “I… don’t know.”
Everyone rolled their eyes. They found it hard to believe that he didn’t know. Yàn Lìqín smiled. “I have things to prepare for. There’s a festival for the Blossom Tournament; you should entertain yourselves there.”
They all looked at one another. A festival? How big could a festival in a town be? They failed to realize that all the groups that came to participate would still be in town for the rest of the tournament. If all those people were going to be there until tomorrow, the festival would have to be big enough to accompany all of them. But Yàn Lìqín didn’t explain. He just smiled and walked off into the town, leaving them to figure it out themselves.
…
It was nighttime; the streets were bright, lit by lanterns, and decorated with streamers and banners. All the main streets leading to the town square were lined with stalls run by mortals and cultivators alike. The Yellow Qilin students were amazed to see such a sight. They began walking down one of the main roads, looking at the scenery and stopping by a stall here or there. Everyone was having fun until they ran into a familiar face, Dong Xiaoli. They tried just to walk by, not wanting to make a scene. But Dong Xiaoli wouldn’t let them go that easy.
Dong Xiaoli sneered. “If it isn’t the Yellow Qilin Academy. I still haven’t forgotten what you did to me.”
Yù Quán looked at him leisurely. “You mean when you knocked you unconscious with one blow?”
Dong Xiaoli’s sneer turned into a nasty look. “It was a sneak attack!” This made the people behind Dong Xiaoli start to clammer. How respectable was a sneak attack? Yù Quán didn’t mind it, though. He didn’t think Dong Xiaoli could be much stronger than him in a direct confrontation, anyway. Yù Quán was going to ignore it until he heard some of the witnesses murmuring.
“Did the Yellow Qilin Academy really result to a sneak attack?” someone asked.
Someone else no so quietly whispered back to the person. “They didn’t deny it! And if Dong Xiaoli is still standing here, perfectly fine, how strong could they really be?”
Everyone from the Yellow Qilin Academy stopped. This wouldn’t do. They didn’t care what the Supreme Wolf Sect thought of them, but they had a reputation to build and maintain, especially since Yàn Lìqín was trying to establish the Eccentric Branch. The one thing they couldn’t have was the Yellow Qilin Academy being known as weak.
Yù Quán stopped his fellow students. “Leave it to me.”
“Um.”
Yù Quán turned around and walked towards the people of the Supreme Wolf Sect. He opened the level 5 Three-Finned Boar eyes. When he was a few meters away, he released the aggression pressure.
Buzz~
Yù Quán knew it wouldn’t be enough to suppress them, but if he released it all around him and was careful not to hit any mortals, it should at least do something. Just as Yù Quán thought, everyone in the area took a step back when the pressure descended. Some weaker cultivators took a step more at most, but none were weak enough to be overwhelmed or heavily affected. The people of the Supreme Wolf Sect immediately went on guard. But Yù Quán didn’t attack them. He snorted and turned back around, heading back to his fellow disciples.
Dong Xiaoli was humiliated. Even though he hadn’t done much, just a thought from Yù Quán was enough to put them on guard. The fact that everyone saw it happen after he provoked them was embarrassing and made Dong Xiaoli seethe.
“Just you wait, Yù Quán! You better stay in the tournament long enough for me to bash your face in!”
Yù Quán didn’t reply or even look toward him but simply waved him off. When Yù Quán returned to them, he noticed two were missing. It was now just him and Rèn Chāngmíng. He looked at Rèn Chāngmíng, confused.
“They said that since you could handle it, they would go ahead and meet with us when we were done. But they didn’t tell me where or how to find them.”
Yù Quán shrugged. They didn’t need to all be together; it should be relatively safe in town. Yù Quán and Rèn Chāngmíng decided to carry on and see if they could find Liàng Píng and Yin Mengxia, by the way. They were already nearing the end of the main road, so with a couple minutes of walking, they were in the town square. There were more than just stalls in the town square. Here, there were games and stations; it was like the town square was where the party was at. Yù Quán and Rèn Chāngmíng walked by and eavesdropped on what looked to be a storytelling circle for the children.
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“So, you should always be good, kids. Those who are good are rewarded by the Helpful Lunatiac, who runs around doing favors for people like crazy. Those who aren’t will be hunted by the Mammoth of Vengeance, who kills those who have wronged others.”
Both Yù Quán and Rèn Chāngmíng strained to maintain their expression. Rèn Chāngmíng had heard his legend, but Yù Quán hadn’t. He could only assume because the description matched the times he went to grind out quests. Rèn Chāngmíng was worried Yù Quán would figure him out and make fun of him. They both pretended not to know anything and continued on through the town square.
Soon, they were in the middle of the town square. So many people were walking back and forth that it was easy to get lost. However, Yù Quán and Rèn Chāngmíng managed. After they exited the crowd, Yù Quán caught a glimpse of a familiar oaf and girl. He looked to tell Rèn Chāngmíng, but he had seen, too. They tacitly agreed and headed over to where they were. When they turned the corner, they saw Liàng Píng and Yin Mengxia walking unnaturally close, with their wrists almost touching. When Yù Quán saw that, he grabbed Rèn Chāngmíng and pulled him behind some crates.
“Wait… you seeing what I’m seeing?”
Rèn Chāngmíng looked over but didn’t see anything wrong. He shrugged and shook his head. Yù Quán rolled his eyes. “Either I’m wrong, or you’re too young.”
Seeing that Rèn Chāngmíng was confused, he grabbed Rèn Chāngmíng by the shirt to get him moving, and they carefully tailed behind them.
…
Liàng Píng had finally gotten alone with Yin Mengxia. When he heard a festival at night, he hoped he would get this chance. Unfortunately, they lost some time with their junior brothers being there, but he found a way to salvage it. They had been walking and exploring for some time, but Liàng Píng just couldn’t muster up the courage to make any moves.
‘Come on, Ping! You got this!’
Just as Liàng Píng was about to say something, Yin Mengxia stopped. She had a solemn expression on her face. Liàng Píng traced her eyesight to see that she was looking right ahead at a group of pale, black-haired people wearing baby blue cultivator’s robes and gowns.
“Come on, Yin Mengxia. Let’s go.”
“Ha. Yin Mengxia?”
It was too late; someone in the group had noticed her before he could get her away.
“I thought it was you. What is someone from such a weak branch of the Yin clan doing at this festival? Shouldn’t you be too busy to watch the tournament?”
Yin Mengxia lowered her eyes and didn’t respond. The one speaking was a guy, thin and pale like Yin Qiuyue. Although they were a part of the same clan, other than their hair and pale skin, they didn’t look much alike. It just went to show how far from the original bloodline some of the branches had developed.
“Hey! Yin Mengxia made it into the next tournament round. Something you couldn’t do. Are you a frog in a well or just plain stupid?”
Buzz~
The faces of the man and all the people around him changed. Who was this brainless-looking slab of meat? Why did he dare insult them?
“I don’t know who you are, but you’re courting death.”
Liàng Píng could tell they were getting into position. He felt he may have been too brash; he didn’t realize they would be so quick to escalate the situation after a few words. But, he remembered that people of “special” bloodlines, no matter how diluted, had a sense of superiority and didn’t like when it was threatened threatened. There were six of them, a number Liàng Píng and Yin Mengxia could not handle. Before anyone could take action, Liàng Píng saw two in the back disappear. He looked over to Yin Mengxia to see if she had noticed, but her eyes were still down. She seemed to be spacing out.
Liàng Píng didn’t see who it was, but he had an idea. He wouldn’t let go of the chance they gave him. He immediately burst out past the two in the front, grabbing two weaker cultivators by the head and smashing them into the floor. Then he stood up and turned to the two in front and scoffed.
“Now I see why you got eliminated.”
The two Yin clan cultivators were dumbfounded. He had taken two out in an instant. And where did the other two go? They weren’t so confident that they could win now, so they could only choose to take their people and retreat. When they picked up the two Liàng Píng had taken down, they found the other two lying not too far away.
Liàng Píng went to comfort Yin Mengxia, who snapped out of her trance. She looked at Liàng Píng with wide eyes, then hugged him tightly. Liàng Píng tensed from shock but then embraced her back. After that, they continued walking hand-in-hand. While walking off, Liàng Píng put his free hand out to the side so Yin Mengxia couldn’t see it and gave a thumbs up. After this, two people disappeared from the crowd.
…
Yù Quán
Realm: Body Tempering Realm
Stage: 1st Level Skin Tempering
Main Cultivation Art: [Stolen-eyed Mùmùlián Body](Level 3)
Strength: 550 Catties
Qi: 1150/2060 wisps
Mùmùlián Core: 6/100
Strange Fire: (Level 2)Murderous Flame(x1)
Techniques:
[Mùmùlián Eye Stealing](Level 3)
[Mùmùlián Eye Refining](Level 3)
[Murder Mantra](Level 1)
[Yellow Qilin Dance](Level 1)
Attributes:
[Strange Fire: Murderous Flame]
[Star Gazing Eyes](Level 1)
[Top-Quality Mortal Avarice Eyes](Level 1)
[Top-Quality Mortal Avarice Eyes](Level 1)
[Top-Quality Three-Finned Boar Aggression Eyes](Level 5)
[Top-Quality Three-Finned Boar Aggression Eyes](Level 1)(x2)
[Top-Quality Five-Finned Boar Aggression Eyes](Level 1)
[Low-Quality Blue Wolf Ferocity Eyes](Level 1)
[Low-Quality Winged Watcher Awareness Eyes](Level 1)
[Low-Quality False Dragon Pride Eyes](Level 1)